The Old Testament is not permitted to be read by the people in modern Russ, by command of the Emperor; it is circulated sparingly in Sclavonic, which is of course useless to most of the people, for the reason named above. The New Testament is, however, allowed to circulate in modern Russ, and not half the population read that, perhaps not more than a third.
With regard to their images or pictures (alluded to by me in Vol. viii., p. 582.), I had not only perused the works mentioned by G. W. (Vol. ix., p. 86.) before I wrote about the Russian religion, &c., but several other works besides.[[1]]
Having been in the country for some little time, and paid some attention to the subject, I was certainly surprised to find little, if any, mention made of their manner of worship or superstitious customs in Dr. Blackmore's works, and wished to contribute my mite towards giving your readers some information as to the state of this semi-civilised race.
From Translations of Russian Works you can glean nothing but what the Russian government chooses, as every work goes through a severe censorship before it is allowed to be printed for circulation; and if there is anything in it that is not liked, it is not permitted to be published unless those parts are suppressed.
It is perhaps only partially known that there is some difficulty in getting English books and newspapers into Russia, as all must go through the censor's office. The Times (which is however all but, if not quite, prohibited at St. Petersburg, and has been so a long time), Punch, and other of our papers, possess a ludicrous appearance after having passed through the hands of the worthies in the censor's office, sometimes there being very little left of them to read.
Whilst writing about images, I omitted to name one or two other circumstances that have come under my own notice, showing still farther the superstitious veneration in which they are held by the Russians.
In the case of a house on fire, one of the inmates, with his head uncovered, carries the image three times round the burning house, under the
belief that it will cause the fire to cease, never attempting to put it out by any other means.
At Moscow there is a very noted image of the Virgin Mary; it is deposited in a recess at one side of an archway leading to the Kremlin. Every person passing through this archway is obliged to uncover his head. I had to do so whenever I passed through. The belief of the efficacy of this image in healing diseases is universal. When any person is ill, by paying the priests handsomely, they will bring it with great pomp, in a carriage and four horses, to the sick person's house, who must recover, or else, if death ensues, they say it is so fated.
Instances of other images in various parts of the empire, some believed to have fallen from heaven, might be multiplied to any extent. I mention these to show that, whatever these representations of the Deity may be called, I had not written unadvisedly previously, as might be surmised by G. W.'s remarks. Everybody must deplore the wretched condition of these people; and the Czar, well knowing their superstitious ideas, works upon their fanatical minds with such letters as we all have had the sorrow of seeing a specimen of in The Times of to-day.[[2]]